What happens when you mix three Brits with a bunch of electronic instruments? They make an alt-techno band, idiot. And today’s recommended alt-techno band is none other than Metronomy, a (formerly) trio of guys who love to party, but were kicked out of said party and delegated to making the music for the party instead. Do you follow me? Of course not, let’s move on!

The song is “Burn It Down” by AWOLNATION. If you’re afraid of listening to music without it being compared via some sort of analogy to another musician, it’s as if Eric Hutchinson traded his piano for a synthesizer. Check the video responses on the Youtube page for a remix by Innerpartysystem, the only way to make this song any cooler.

[Quick Warning: My music posts never really focus entirely on the band in the title, but there will be youtube videos of that band after the jump for your enjoyment. So enjoy.]

When it comes to indie music, nothing gets a hipster’s heart fluttering more than the bands that were indie before words like “indie”, “grunge”, or “alternative” were common language in the world of music. Nothing is more satisfying for indie kings than to say something like, “If the Pixies didn’t exist, then Nirvana never would have happened!” or, “Quit blabbing about your stupid Coldplay! If it wasn’t for Joy Division (or Radiohead) then you wouldn’t even have a Coldplay to blab about!”

… Or something like that. I think that’s what people are into these days.

Anyways, I too am a big fan of the so called precursors to the altern-rock movement, and if I had to make a quick list of my five favorites, it would look something like this…

Tegan and Sara is probably my favorite band made of identical lesbian Canadian twins. That narrows my music collection down only about halfway, but still. Seriously though. Tegan and Sara is one of my favorite bands, and would be even if I didn’t have an obsession with female vocalists. (Not like…an odd obsession.) Tegan and Sara are just really, really good, and their songs have a wonderful mix of genres even within the same album. After the jump I’ve got proof! I promise.

The Vitamin String Quartet, besides just being awesome, is a cover band for rock hits but (here comes the twist) with string instruments. Think of a song that you love, and imagine it mellowed down exponentially. That would give you something like this:

Know what I’m saying? While I cherish the classic rock hits as they are, this is still hilarious. I mean, I could try to be serious and say that it makes you appreciate the music more than just the lyrical aspect. But really, it’s just fun to listen to something familiar and give it this classy feel. It’s fersure a riot. Here’ s a few more of my faves after the jump.

I like video game music. Like, a lot. I have the soundtracks of the first 6 Mega Man games and Silent Hill 2 on my iPod. They’re quite excellent. Music is an integral part of any gaming experience. Few things can make good video game music more awesome. One of those things is when bands solely focused on playing video game music are formed. Another is when they are actually good. See 5 of the best ones after the jump.